Page 163 of Sins of the Orchid

Not that it would stop me if he was devoted to her.

I was done playing by the rules when it came to Amore. There was a reason the Russos were considered cheats with more blood on their hands than the entire Cosa Nostra. And if they tried to keep Amore from me, the streets of this city would run blood red.

If her father wanted war, he would get it. I was the don of the Russo family. I have never been soft or the giving type. The only softness I’d ever felt was when I was buried in Amore’s tight pussy, listening to her soft moans calling out my name. That girl is fucking mine. She wasn’t a fragile flower that needed sheltering. She was capable of holding her own in the boardroom, in a fight, and in the bedroom. She’d be my wife.

Carrera was behind me. I’d forced her grandmother behind me. Okay, maybe blackmailed was a better word, but fuck it… the end justified the means.

I watched Amore’s bare, graceful back as she walked towards her grandmother in that green dress, looking every inch an heiress and prima donna. This was what she had been groomed for most of her life. She wasn’t born in the world of the Cosa Nostra or among the cartel. She was born an heiress. But now, the underworld pulled… No,Ipulled her knee deep into it.

But I wouldn’t let it rip her apart. I’d keep her safe at all costs, even from her own family. She didn’t trust anyone; it was the reason she found herself in the jungle fighting that battle alone. With DeAngelo. It bothered me that it wasn’t me, but I was grateful the son of a bitch kept her safe. That man had watched her from a young age and was trustworthy.

Life was a fucking irony. The kiddo with sad green eyes that sat on the dirty pavement put a lock on me and threw away the key. I fought it and lost. I didn’t give a fuck if she was an heiress, or a cartel princess, or the don’s daughter. Because none of it mattered to me.

Amore has been mine from that first moment and I have been hers.

“There we go.” Regina beamed, looking proudly at her granddaughter. At her legacy.

“And this next news—”

“Grandma, can we talk first?” Amore’s voice echoed through the microphone, though not as strong as Regina’s.

Amore stood next to her grandmother, face slightly pale. The smile was still on her lips, but she looked more like a deer in headlights.

Regina patted her hand, though Amore didn’t look comforted at all.

“And now Santino Russo.” Regina waved her hand, calling me over. “Please join Amore and me up here.” I bet it shaved a few years of her life to say those words.

The spotlight flashed on me as drums rolled. Regina had a knack for dramatics, which I fucking hated.

I buttoned my suit jacket and pushed my hands into my pockets. I strode across the room. The path in front of me cleared, the world of Regalè’s rich, snobby pricks steering clear of me. My reputation in New York preceded me, reminding people never to double cross me. Right now, it only mattered that the dragon queen of a grandmother didn’t fucking try it.

“Don’t be shy, Santi Russo,” Regina called out. The woman was a pain in my fucking ass. Old as dirt but handled herself with grace and a sharp mind. I was six foot three, her grandmother was even shorter than Amore, probably around five foot three, but the way the dragon eyed me, you’d think she was my equal. It was probably what helped her rule her empire and the cartel so successfully until she could hand the reins to her granddaughter. “Come join my granddaughter, your fiancée, up here.”

Gasps traveled through the room like an echo.

She fucking loved to play. I should have known she wouldn’t make it short and simple. Luigi pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against all evening and his father joined in, both walking towards me. Savio’s face was blood red, rage clearly all over him. Lorenzo and Gabriel came behind him and Luigi, holding them back.

It left DeAngelo, Renzo, and I to do the rest.

I stepped up onto the podium, taking my spot in front of Amore, shielding her from the view of the audience with my towering body. She looked even paler up close. A frozen smile on her face that watched me warily, confusion in her green eyes. Amore didn’t have the dragon personality like Regina, but she had a backbone, smarts, and stubbornness.

“After my daughter died in the middle of the South American jungle, Amore found herself in New York. She had her father, Savio Bennetti and the Russo family protecting her. There are no greater New Yorkers than those two. And I can assure you that my granddaughter would keep the headquarters of Regalè Enterprise in New York, honoring the two great men in her life.”

The applause broke throughout. The clicking and flashing of the cameras went into overdrive, and I couldn’t help but admire how smoothly she handled it.

“Grandma, what are you doing?” Amore hissed under her breath, her eyes darting frantically between me and Regina.

Regina ignored her question and turned to the audience and offered them a smile. “And now a dance by my granddaughter and her future husband.”

“Fuck,” Amore muttered under her breath. “What the fuck is going on?” she hissed, her eyes searching me out.

“Language, darling,” Regina warned her. “Now you two get on the dance floor.”

“No, I don’t fucking think so,” Amore hissed, her fair skin blotching red with anger. I loved her little telltales of emotions, though I knew firsthand Amore hated them. Except when I was fucking her, then she didn’t mind it. She let it all out.

I’ll be back inside you soon, Amore.

CHAPTER61